Taiwanese Shipyard Workers Killed in Welding Accident

On Saturday, two shipyard workers at CSBC Corporation's Kaohsiung yard were killed in a welding accident while working on a semisubmersible heavy lift ship.

The workers, surnames Lu and Lin (first names withheld), were reportedly using an arc welder within an interior compartment and were electrocuted, according to local officials. Local media report that the compartment also caught fire.

Kaohsiung's Labor Affairs Bureau has ordered that the faulty model of electric arc welder must be taken out of use, and it has halted work on the semi-submersible. The agency also fined CSBC $2,000 and the contractor about $1,000 for mismanagement. CSBC has launched a comprehensive safety review in response to the accident.

The identity of the heavy lift ship could not be immediately verified.

CSBC is also the builder of Taiwan's first indigenous submarines, and chairman Cheng Wen-Lon recently suggested that the firm can supply them for less than the $3.3 billion bid from Japanese competitors (depending on the ROC Navy's requirements). He told the Taipei Times that the yard hopes to have the first hull completed within eight years.